Can't Just Leave It to the Guys
by Kaori Koriryu
Summary: Slightly insane? Yes, thank you for noticing, I rather enjoy it, really. Speaking to shadows appears to not be the only thing I can do with them, however. In fact, I remember the day when I was first approached about being the very first ninja of shadows. /Formerly What If There Were Eight, now rewritten./
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago**

**A/N: Dear all of you amazing people out there: **

**Yes, I did delete the previous version of this story. I felt I needed to better it so it would be caught up with my current style. **

**Enjoy. **

Prologue: Found by a Ninja

My name is Kori.

It means ice. It could stand for any number of things- the two locks of hair framing my face that are white, unlike the rest of my hair, which is black. My icy blue eyes. The ice blue pendant made of sapphire and silver I always wear. Most prominent, though, is my attitude.

I know I am cold. I enjoy it, smirking, sarcastic comments, my cold gaze passing over those who want the attention of it most.

I call them my subjects. I don't know if anyone else can see or hear them, but they are always so plain to me. They are the shadows themselves- creatures that aren't there unless they call out to you. I have seen everything from a raven to a dragon in these shadows. They cloak me while I do my job.

That job is stealing for my family.

I am known mainly as the Princess of Thieves and Queen of Shadows- at least, I am known by the black markets and undergrounds. No one outside of my 'trade' knows who I am. Thieves never turn their back on one another, and when they do, they only ever do it if they are sure they will never get caught. It is the utmost of disgraces for a thief family to reveal another.

But why am I revealing this to you?

For now, join me as I travel back in time to that night when it all began, when I first found out I was to be the ninja of shadows….

I had just sold an especially expensive item the night before, and I was headed to market, softly singing the dreary tunes the shadows put into my mind.

_No, you don't belong, but you must stay, at least for now… your destiny, child, your destiny! Lovely, lovely, lovely, exquisite, destiny, stay, stay, now we will keep you safe, hold you, child, don't go until we drag you into the shadow world, okay?_

I smirked, my eyes shadowed at the voices in my head, singing of my great destiny to me, but they always kept it from me. It was a game between them and I, you see, the ruler and the subjects, and I would eventually win, you know. It's a simple game, already planned out by me….

I suddenly bumped into something, which was not uncommon for me in marketplace, as I almost never paid attention to anything except my family and my pets, my dear subjects, the shadows. I was still cross, however, and looked up at them, glaring. "Aren't you going to apologize?" I huffed to the girl in the light gray ninja suit.

"You Kori?" she asked, raising her eyebrow (her hood was currently off).

"Who needs to know?" I snapped.

"My name is Dara. I am the ninja of air, and you are the missing piece of the puzzle for the female ninja team." she said haughtily.

"Your bow is coming loose." I said absentmindedly.

"What? Is not!" she hissed, reaching back to grasp the bow that held her brunet hair in place.

I giggled as a shadow in the form of a bat (that only I could see) tugged the pink bow free from her hair. "Is too." I smirked.

She sighed. "Sensei Wu warned you would be difficult to handle." she said, eying me warily.

"Oh, take me away now officer!" I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. Then I grinned and said, "I'll come, as long as you tell me why."

The girl sighed again. "You are the eight member of the team, Kori Amiri. You are the new ninja of shadows."

**Four major changes: **

**1. Kori has been seeing/hearing shadows ever since she can remember, so as you can imagine, she's grown to be quite insane, but she is clever about how she handles it and talking about the 'feelings' she gets, which she pretends is a sixth sense like Zane's, but it's really the shadows, which will always tell her the near future. **

**2. The other female ninjas have all been gathered before Kori, and it is just at the end of season two, so I can make up some stuff of my own to happen between season two and three and maybe have new bad guys of my own in there (SUPER OBVIOUS FORESHADOWING DUN-DUN-DUH!). **

**3. None of the female ninjas from the other version of the story are in this one. :D**

**4. This is in a first person point of view of Kori to better understand her and her feelings about certain points in the story. **

**Also, I'm accepting OCs, but only two, and they have to be a ninja of water or a ninja of light (because light is kinda the opposite of shadows and I need legit elements) and they have to be female~. The first person to review for each gets to have a place in my story, so look at the reviews to make sure you don't create a ninja that's already been created. I am also taking… hm, five villager OCs. So, one per person? Thank ye. ;)**

**Name: **

**Age: **

**Gender (if one of the ninjas, must be female): **

**Element: **

**Appearance: **

**Personality:**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Extras:**

**As I finish this is it… 4:40 in the morning. Lovely insomnia. **

**And… that's all for the super-long author's note. **

**WAIT! One more thing. A review question. Is it odd that the characters I write best for are all insane?**

**~Kaori**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: Ninjago isn't mine, sadly. **

**A/N: Guys… I love all of you, but… Did you not read the entire paragraph last chapter? I specifically warned you I'm only taking two ninja OCs, and only one per person. Other than that, I'm only taking five villagers. I also said you should look at the reviews to make sure that ninja hasn't been taken yet or the limit of villagers haven't been reached. Sorry, guys, but not this time. **

**I did work something out with the first two people who submitted water ninjas, so I actually ended up taking two for water, but essentially they can only act as the water ninja when the are physically touching, like putting a hand on the other's shoulder, or something like that, as they're twins. **

Chapter One: The Shadows Like Them

I grinned maniacally, greeting the sensei. "Hello, Sensei Old Guy!" I chirped.

The old man looked mildly irked at this, making the shadows around us chatter in excitement. I myself rocked on my feet, tilting my head at him, now with a cold smirk, as I awaited his response.

"My name is Sensei Wu, first and foremost." The sensei didn't seem too happy about his new nickname, so I decided to keep it. "Secondly, you are now the dark gray ninja of shadows."

"So my color will be somewhere in between his and hers?" I purposely interrupted, pointing first at Dara, then at the male ninja in the black ninja suit. Both of them gave me angry, agitated looks.

_New enemies among my allies! Yay! _I giggled to myself as I thought this.

I soon realized that _all _of the ninjas were glaring at me, and a gave them a bright wave. "I'm insane." I explained happily.

This seemed to strike some of the ninjas into shock. Of course, I wouldn't have told them if my shadows hadn't told me to, but I always did whatever my subjects told me to do.

"Insane?" The male ninja in red turned to Sensei Wu, eyes wide in alarm and shock. "Why is she on the team if she's insane?"

"Tell them why, Zane." The old guy nodded toward a guy with white-blond-gray hair in a white ninja suit.

_His hair needs to make up its mind like his ninja suit has!_ A snake shadow-being hissed into my ear, curling around my shoulders before dispersing like a cloud of dust. I giggled aloud at the joke that was silent to the rest of them.

Zane frowned, then said, "She has a very strong connection with the shadows, therefore she will complete this team as the strongest in Ninjago. Her connection with the shadows is also the reason for her being insane, though."

_We sent him a special dream!_ A rat-shaped shadow-being chuckled at my feet, twitching his whiskers, then he scurried off into complete darkness.

_Special dream? But you're my subjects! You do as I say!_ I protested, glaring at the place where the rat shadow disappeared.

"That wasn't your information. You stole it." I huffed, turning to the one called Zane. "You forced my subjects to give it up, I know you did."

"He did not, Kori." Sensei Old Guy stood from where he sat with a tea set by his side. "He has a special ability called sixth sense. He could sense it in you. And that is why you will be the ninja of shadows."

**A/N: A fair warning; most chapters probably won't be that long. I promise, though, there will eventually be tons of chapters, but probably not over a hundred…. At the most, fifty chapters. At the least, twenty-five. M'kay?**

**~Kaori**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago.**

Chapter Two: Song and Dance

A chorus of "Not it!" came from every ninja in the room except myself.

"Ha! Cole, you were last!" one of the twin water ninjas, Kaia, shouted mockingly, pointing at Cole.

Her name was pronounced like Kai's, only with an a sound at the end, and her twin's was pronounced 'like it looked', Kaya. When I asked Sensei Wu about having two water ninjas, he told me that they couldn't perform Spinjitsu or control the element on their own, only with each other present, because Kaia stood for the raging side of water, while her calmer sister stood for the calmer side of water.

Cole folded his arms. "Not fair! Two out of three!"

"No way, you were definitely last, buddy." Jay said, grinning. "You get to take Kori somewhere safe while we rebuild the rest of the monastery."

"Dudes, I can take care of myself." I snapped. "I don't need a stupid babysitter." They were rebuilding the monastery because the Destiny's Bounty wouldn't hold everyone, too many people.

"Yeah, but we never know when you might do something weird and mess the whole monastery up by taking out a single screw or something!" Dara said, smirking as she folded her arms. Then she turned to Cole. "Hey, you could always take her to see your dad. Isn't he all about crazy people?"

Cole grinned a bit, which irked me. They were talking about me like I was an animal that needed to be kept under lock and key.

"Yeah, he is! Thanks, Dara, you just made my day a lot easier." Cole quickly grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of my seat, and I heard the shadows howling with laughter. I hissed at them, and the laughter stopped almost immediately. My good subjects always listened to me, and in return I listened back...

After a short ride to Cole's dad's place on Rocky, Cole's dragon, I hopped off before Cole could move. "Listen, I got this." I said, waving him off.

Cole frowned and jumped off Rocky, running to reach the door before me. I sighed, "Now Cole, what do think 'I've got this' means?"

"I have to talk to my dad first." Cole said, throwing a 'look' my way that told me to shut up and back off for a second. I raised my eyebrows and put my hands up in a sign of giving in.

Suddenly, two young girls skipped up to us, maybe seven or eight years old. The one with freckles and glasses and long auburn hair in a ponytail spoke up. "Who're you? We've never seen you here before."

I leaned down so we were eye to eye and gave her my most maniacal grin, saying, "The real question is, who are you?"

"My name's Addy, and this is my friend, Drey! She can't talk, though." the young girl added quickly.

I frowned when she wasn't scared. "How old are you and Drey, Addy?"

"I'm seven, and Drey is only a few months older, but now she's eight." Addy told me.

"Ah, okay." I ruffled her hair with one hand and grinned. "I have to go, but stay safe. Oh, and my name's Kori, I'm the ninja of shadows." I waved to them as Cole waited impatiently with his father.

"Listen, don't freak out or anything while you're here, okay? I don't want you messing with my dad's head."

"I would never do that!" I scoffed, pretending to be offended, then grinned and waved at Cole's dad. "Hey, I'm Kori, the ninja of shadows!"

Cole's dad gave me a wide grin. "Hello, Kori. Cole tells me you have some mental problems, but I don't believe him. Would you like to come in?" He gestured inside.

I nodded and slipped past him. My eyes lit up as he closed the door and I spotted a phonograph. "Can that thing play?" I asked him, bouncing on my toes.

He chuckled, "Of course it can. I'm a dancer, after all. I need music to dance to."

I gasped. "No way! Is Cole a twinkle toes too?"

"If by twinkle toes you mean a dancer, then yes, he did inherit some of his old dad's skills." he laughed.

I guffawed at this. "No way! The next thing you'll tell me is that he's still scared of the dark!" I turned to my serious mode as I added, "Because I can seriously use my element to my advantage then."

Cole's father smiled. "No, no, he stop being scared of the dark when he was five. But he did just recently get over a fear of dragons. That was, however, replaced by a fear of snakes, I believe."

I held in another fit of laughter, instead choosing just to smile as I walked over to the phonograph. "Will you play this for me?"

The shadows in the room hissed around me, showing me their displeasure, but I brushed the sounds away and sent them all a glare.

"Of course I will." Cole's father moved over to the music-player, put on a record, and started a record.

Instantly, my eyes closed in bliss. The voices of the shadows faded away, and I could feel complete sanity washing over me for the first time in a long time. The shadows kept me from the music, but they had gotten too confident that I would be kept away on my own without warning me on my own anymore.

"It's beautiful." I murmured, eyes still closed.

I opened them to see Cole's father smiling. "Sit down." he said, gesturing to a long seat. I sat at one end, facing the other, and he did the same with the other.

"Now, you'll think I'm crazy for thinking this-"

"I have no right to judge who is crazy, Mr... What _is_ your name?"

"Lou Forsmith." he said, laughing. "Now, as I was saying, I've always told people that music soothes the soul without sanity."

"No, no." I said softly, shaking my head. "It... it blocks the voices... th-the shadows... it keeps them out, and gives me back my sanity... just while it plays."

Mr. Forsmith frowned. "Are you okay? You seem upset."

"No, I am very happy, but it is a bittersweet moment. Once the music ends in my ears, once the last note plays, I will no longer retain my sanity, and the shadows will come back and be angry at me." I sighed, smiling sadly.

Cole's father leaned back in the chair, then his face lit up. "Kori, I do believe I might have found a solution to you problem. One of the ninjas, Jay, my son wrote me and told me once he is an inventor. Is this true?"

I nodded. "Yeah, he's always coming up with crazy things. Why?"

Mr. Forsmith smiled and leaned forward again conspiratorially. "Well, Kori, I have a plan, if you'd like to hear."

**I officially dub thee, Cole and Lou, the Forsmith family! XD**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter. ^^**

**~Kaori**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ninjago, guyz! D:**

Chapter Three: Nightmare

I had that nightmare again.

It made me want to scream and thrash and kick, but most of all, it made me want to kill. I can't even quite put my finger on what the dream's about, I just know I always wake from it terrified, with adrenaline running through my body and my mind set to kill.

I bolted upright in my little pallet on the floor. For some reason, a name escaped my lips in a breath: "Matt." I looked over to where his bed usually was in my home in the village, then remembered I wasn't there. Matt was my little brother, but I had never said his name after dreaming before.

Instead of Matt, I saw Dara, which made my blood boil and rush in my ears. I gritted my teeth and stood up, stiffly walking around the other female ninjas in the room they currently had built for all of us. They were trying to rebuild the monastery, but bigger, so everyone could have a room.

I walked out of the room, to the door. I carefully slid it open and walked outside, the shadows created by the pale silver light of the crescent moon whispering to me, reaching out with their clawed and taloned hands to grab for my shirt. I had refused to wear a ninja outfit, instead choosing to remain in my normal garb of a black shirt with longer gray sleeves and dark jeans.

When I reached the place where the last step met the ground, I quickly dashed into the forest. I began searching the undergrowth for my prey before dawn light could find the chance to dapple the ground beneath the tree leaves dancing on the light morning winds.

I saw it before it saw me. A small doe, grazing peacefully on long grass in the cool night air.

I crouched beneath a bush near it, bringing out my only current weapon; my pocket knife.

I suddenly shot up and sent the knife flying for the deer. It sunk into the flesh of the creature's neck. I bit my lip, wondering if I would have to continue my hunt, but my nightmare bloodlust seemed to be satisfied.

Looking down at my prey, I bent and pulled the knife from its wound. My target practice at home had paid off. It had hit the doe in her throat, just where the lungs connected to the mouth. I wiped off the blade and put it back in my pocket, then slung the deer over my shoulders and headed back for the monastery.

A sudden, large hot breath on my back caused me to freeze.

Slowly I turned. I almost screamed.

It was a large dragon, blacker than midnight, so black it looked blue. It had fierce, deep midnight blue eyes. In its jaws, sticking out of one side, there was a golden staff that seemed to absorb the moon's light and bounce it back out with rays as radiant as the sun's.

The dragon opened its mouth so the staff rolled out and stopped at my feet. I looked up at it, then hesitantly lay down my catch and bent to pick up the staff.

A spark of amusement seemed to enter the eyes of the dragon. This scared me, because frankly, the dragon was huge. As big as the guys' combined dragons, except, instead of four heads, this one just had one big head. Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared of dragons, I just didn't feel like dying at the moment.

When the dragon opened its jaws again, I was sure it was going to eat me.

It laughed.

"How funny you are, little human." it chuckled. It had a grown female voice. "I am not here to harm you, however. I am your dragon, of the shadow sub-species, sub-sub-species night crystal dragon. My name is Tiamat, named after the legend of the first ever dragoness, who created the world. I have been searching for many years for the young human who would be able to be my rider. That is the staff of shadows, fashioned after the holy staffs used by monks in days older than these."

I blinked. My dragon could talk?

... Cool.

**And that's how the cookie crumbled. I advise you all to look up the legend of Tiamat, even though she's not the Tiamat in this story, if you like good dragon legends. **

**Also, this is basically how all the female ninjas got their dragons and golden weapons; fully-grown dragon senses it's time for their weapon to be given up, then they find the person it belongs to, they give it to them, then introduce themselves and state their purpose. **

**Because the female dragons are so beast that they can talk. :D**

**That's Maruki the wind dragon, Brea (bree-ah) the light dragon, and Gylph (gilf) and Gyro (jai-ro)the water dragons. I had Gylph and Gyro already made for another fandom, so I figured I'd use them here, but Gyro's gotta have a different design (he was more paint-splatter in the other fandom, for his talent, artist/writing talent, like Gylph is a natural healer). **

**Oh, and for Neelh: I don't think they have MP3s in Ninjago. It seems like a time where they have the larger machines, but haven't invented anything portable _yet_, since I haven't seen any portable electronics so far. Notice how I emphasized 'yet'.**

**So, enough of my rambling. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**~Kaori**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: Ninjago. It isn't mien. D:**

Chapter Four: Animals or Humans?

"Sensei Wu!"

A girl with black short hair ran into the room. I was sitting on the edge of the table, holding a box of rock candy above Lloyd's head and watching the kid jump for it as Jay fixed up my new sanity device at the other end of the table. I had to admit, Mr. Forsmith was smart.

"Sensei Wu!" the girl repeated. I disliked her. A lot. "There have been sightings of strange creatures near the border of Ninjago."

I jumped off the table, still holding the rock candy above my head as I held Lloyd's forehead back with my other hand. "I'll go." I imediately said. I let go of Lloyd's forehead and gave him the candy. "Here, kid." I said, smiling before I dashed out.

"Hey! Yuo can't go alone!" Cole said, standing up to chase after me.

I spun around and took my staff from its place tucked in my belt, and before anyone else could figure out what was happening, the blunt tip was pointing at Cole's throat with a swirling drill of shadows around it. "Who says?" I asked coldly, then replaced my staff and dashed away.

I made my way down to the dragon stables, grinning as I poked my head in at Tiamat. "Hey, Tiamat. Let's go!"

The large dragoness slipped out of the stable, bending down so I could get on her back. I rode bareback, without the dragon saddle that everyone else used. What was so terrifying about riding a huge dragon at over a hundred miles per hour over a thousand feet in the air that they needed to use a saddle.

It didn't take long to reach the village where the odd creatures were sighted. Oddly enough, as I slipped off of Tiamat, I didn't see any villagers. I frowned as the shadows hissed and taunted me, and I snapped my teeth at them so they would shut up and I could concentrate.

I saw a flash of movement in the shadows, and I turned as those shadows coaxed me over. _He's here, they're here, she's here, we're here, those you seek are beyond, underneath. Under the hole under the metal, they hide in us. Come and find them, they wait, they wait for their prey. We will protect you, though. We will not allow our prey to become theirs today._

I growled, but followed the voices of the shadows until they were suddenly deafening. _There! Under you! Your enemy lays in wait under you!_ they screamed.

"Okay, I get it!" I snapped. I looked under my feet, and of course, I saw...

A sewer entrance. It had to be the sewers.

* * *

After lowering myself into the dark, dank sewer, the shadows hissed at me, _Those that call themselves your teammates arrive now. THey search for you and the object of your search._

I looked up at the opening, glad I had slid the lid back on. Then I started to walk into the impentrable darkness.

A shadow stirred behind me, and I whipped around. I was in for the surprise of my life, though. Even bigger than the night a few nights ago I had found Tiamat.

I came face-to-face with something that looked to be a cross between a lion and a human.

**And... end scene. **

**So, who's ready to make OCs? :D**

**Here's what I need: three dogs, two cats, four lizards, a male lion, a couple of tigers, and two male wolf mixes. Yes, they are... 'anthro', I guess you could say. Fill out this form for your character (these are the bad guys, well, not all of them, but I'm the only one who knows which mixes aren't bad):**

**Name (must be natural, like Berry or Light, or anything like Hope, just nothing like human names or technology stuff):**

**Gender:**

**Rank: (Standard, Guard, Scout, or Daggers)**

**Animal Mix:**

**Human Appearance (because they can be disguised as humans in some ranks):**

**Anthro Appearance:**

**Personality: **

**Favorite Weapon (Only spears, swords, knives, or scythes):**

**Extras:**

**And that's all. Hopefully, the next chapter is longer. **

**~Kaori**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Ninjago's not mine!**

**A/N: It's not a sphinx, thank you. It's an anthro. There is a difference. You know who you are, who I'm talking to. =.=**

**Also, on OCs, some of them that you guys submitted I can't accept. New rules:**

**NO unnatural hair or eye colors.**

**In human form, they will not have any part of their anthro selves except hair and eye color, which means NO cat/dog/other animal ears/tails, NO pointed teeth, NO cat eyes, ect.**

**The Serpentine will not be in this story.**

**In anthro form, they will basically have the bone structure of humans in their arms and legs (but will still have paws instead of hands and feet, the paws are just easier to use to hold things) and they will have the face of the animal they are an anthro of, they don't look very human, in other words.**

**So, after pointing out all these things, I would have to say… Spark (Animals Music and Ninjago) and Fever (PicassaLovesNinjago) are the only two who are accepted. If you would, please go back and fix your characters so I may use them, and PLEASE, the biggest rule of all is, NO MARY-SUES!**

**Sorry for the long A/N, guys, but back to the story. **

Chapter Five: Cursed

A hand- or was it a paw?- was quickly placed over my mouth to stop me from screaming. I stared at the thing, which looked like a girl. It was like a mountain lion standing on its hind legs with some of the bone structure of a human in places likes its arms and legs, but its face was completely lion, except for the intelligent gleam in its eye and her long gold hair. She wore a long-sleeved red shirt and jeans.

"Hush, and look to see the evil ones." she whispered, pointing across the sewer and pulling me back into the shadows.

Just under a hole where light was let in, about five things that sort of looked like the lion/human but looked more like wolves than lions. I could make out one that sort looked like a Dalmatian because of its fur, but it definitely was still a wolf… human… thing. I had no idea what to call them. They were working on some sort of large vehicle, with rockets and blasters coming out of the sides.

"Those are only some of the evil ones," the lion/human whispered, "but those are the only wolves. There are different species that each of us were made to be… now come, I will show you the good ones."

She finally removed her paw from my mouth. I took a deep breath, then whispered, "My name's Kori, what's yours?"

"… Dusk…" the lioness murmured, suddenly crouching on all four paws. Her arms and legs seemed to morph into the regular bone structure of a lion as she crept forward. I frowned and followed her until we came to a brick wall.

"What now?" I asked impatiently. It was only then that I noticed the shadows were silent for the first time in a long time, without me having to listen to music.

"This place is safe, sacred. It's where the cursed ones with good hearts are hiding now." Dusk muttered, standing up and running a paw over the stone.

"What, just you? That's lovely." I snorted, turning to look around.

From behind me, there came the grating sound of stone grating against stone. I turned, and my jaw dropped.

"Woah."

**Sorry for my long absence, guys! R&R, and I love you all, my awesome reviewers!**

**Oh, anyone wanna guess why Kori's so stunned? :D**

**~Kaori**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: Ninjago doesn't belong to me, and I am making no profit from this story whatsoever. **

Chapter Six: Underground

I tried to comprehend what I was seeing. A giant underground city- like the buildings were carved straight out of the walls. And the strange creatures were everywhere!

A red cat-looking creature looked up from talking with a tiger-creature. She spoke something to the tiger creature, and the two walked over to Dusk and I. Dusk pulled me into the underground city towards them. Behind us, I heard the stone wall sliding back into place.

"Dusk!" The red cat nodded at her. "Is this one of the ninjas?"

"Yeah," Dusk answered, nodding back. "Introduce yourself," she added, turning to me.

"My name is Kori. I am the ninja of shadows." I said, straightening.

_Don't forget, you can't do as these creatures ask. You belong to us, and you will do as we say. You are only allowed to be tied to one species of cursed beings!_

I tried to ignore the sounds of the serpent shadow by my ear as the tiger introduced himself. "My name is Lightning." He bowed slightly in my direction. "And you are one of eight chosen to help us."

I tried to hold back my surprise. The red cat gave me an apologetic look while Dusk's face remained mostly blank, though she did seem irritated at Lightning.

The red cat held out a paw, or hand, whatever it was supposed to be. I hesitated before taking it, and she shook my hand, though she didn't meet my eyes. "Sorry, my name's Fever," she mumbled. "We're just not really used to having newbies come in, especially human newbies."

"What am I a newbie for?" I asked with narrowed eyes. This was where my temper came in. I hated being automatically signed up for something I didn't ask for.

"You're just new to knowing about us and being brought here, that's all." Dusk sighed, one of her ears twitching. "Tell me, Kori, would you like to see the prophecy? Trust me, you won't recognize yourself in it. It could've been anyone to be the ninja of shadows. It's because the element chose you, however, that you're part of it." She waved me towards one of the smaller buildings.

I shrugged to myself and followed her. I heard Fever and Lightning following us as well. Once inside the building, she led me through a short, torch-lit hallway, into a much larger room.

The stone walls, dimly illuminated by the glow of about twenty torches lining the walls, were painted in magnificent colors. Some depictions were faded and looked older; some were marked out with a long black line. Others looked like they could've been drawn just yesterday.

Dusk led me to a smaller picture that looked like it was one of the newer ones. I looked up at it and tilted my head, staring at the colors on the wall. It formed a strange picture. Eight smaller pictures sat in a line- a red fire, a grayish blob that might've been a rock, a whitish-blue crystal that was probably meant to look like a chunk of ice, a yellow bolt of lightning, a yellow-orange spark, a couple of water drops, a dark purple, almost black, flame, and a few swirling gray lines. Under them was a picture of what looked like one of the creatures, a lion one if I was seeing the golden fur and mane correctly. A black arrow pointed to a picture beside it of a crudely-drawn human. It looked blurred at the edges, like it had been drawn in chalk and someone had run their hand through it- or their paw.

I jumped slightly as a paw was placed on my shoulder, and I turned to see Lightning giving me a critical once-over before smiling and nodding. "Good, good! You seem like a strong young warrior. Is that your weapon?" He pointed at the golden staff that I had securely tucked into my belt that I had gotten for just such a purpose.

I nodded. "Uh, yeah," I answered him. "Why?"

"We normally don't use staffs, but I suppose the weapons the eight have will suffice," he mused aloud, rubbing his chin as his eyes grew distant.

"Sorry about him." Dusk said. Her ear twitched again, and I frowned.

"Is there something wrong with your ear?" I asked her.

She just smiled slightly. "Oh, no. Nothing's wrong. Your friends are just here now. Let's go and greet them, shall we?" With that, she turned and walked back out of the room.

**Another long absence. Sorry guys! D8) But thankfully this was a (sort of) longer than usual chapter. **

**In answer to the question of Kumatheawesome, yes, you may make more than one "creature" OC, but only up to three, please. **

**Hopefully, I may get another chapter up later today or tomorrow. Patience, please. :3**

**~Kaori**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: Ninjago: Not mine.**

Chapter Seven: The Cursed King

I followed Dusk out of the temple, Lightning and Fever once again following us. I grinned at the voices of the shadows in my ears again, and I waved at the ninjas that were in fighting stances in the middle of the crowd of curious creatures, in a small circle so they wouldn't have their backs to the creatures.

"Hey, look, they have Kori!" Lauren pointed out, noticing me first.

I gave them an irritated look, being normally hostile. "They don't 'have me,' I volunteered to come here," I snapped. "They're not the bad guys, you know."

"Could've fooled me," I heard Kai mumble, looking at the edge of a knife that one of the creatures was pointing at him, dangerously near his throat.

"Just listen to Dusk, okay?" I sighed, shaking my head at them in clear disapproval and annoyance.

"Dusk? Who's that?" Cole asked, folding his arms and giving me a critical look. Somehow, I knew he didn't trust me.

I pointed with my thumb at the half-lion, half-human that I was now standing beside. "She is. She can explain everything." I shrugged and added, "At least, I'm pretty sure she can."

Dusk nodded and looked at me, face blank and eyes unreadable. "Kori, go with Lightning and Fever. They'll explain more in-depth to you while I tell these eight the basics." She turned back to look at the ninjas and started to explain as I followed Lightning and Fever, completely tuning Dusk out by listening to the shadows as we left her behind.

"… and so you have to know how to handle your weapon properly!" Lightning was explaining enthusiatically, something that resembled a smile on his muzzle as I tuned back in.

"Huh? I was listening to someone else. Can you repeat that?" I asked, mildly amused at the frustrated look that came over him.

"He was explaining how your weapons would have to be used in order to break the curse," Fever quietly said.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized, surprisingly sincere.

Lightning looked up and grinned. "That's okay!" he laughed. "Now, follow me, and I'll explain further!" I was sort of surprised that neither asked who I was listening to.

I walked away with him, this time doing my best to ignore the shadows as I listened to Lightning explain, Fever putting in a word or two to correct him or add something he forgot from time to time.

* * *

~~~~ Third Person POV ~~~~

A hulking shape sat on a throne, the fingers on its furry forepaw drumming against the large stone chair. "Bring in Seer…." A soft, yet threatening male voice came from the figure on the throne.

"Yes, King Stormfire," a creature that was half-human, half-lizard said dutifully, turning and walking down a dark passageway.

Stormfire waited impatiently in stony silence for Noble's return with Seer, his claws appearing from ompatience to drum against his throne, resulting in a soft clicking noise filling the room. A few moments later, the half-lizard had brought in a smaller creature. It looked to be half dog, with off-putting blind eyes that bulged from his head. He wore a plain brown robe, tied at the waist with a rope.

"Yes, Stormfire?" The creature's old voice rasped.

Stones grating against a stones, that's what it sounded like today, Stormfire mused. The voice of a weary old man.

"I want you to tell me, old man," Stormfire said quietly, and his imposing icy blue eyes flashed for a moment as he leaned forward, revealing a long gray-furred muzzle and teeth as sharp as daggers. "Tell me what you have seen."

The blind mutt creature nodded and sat on the floor in what seemed to be a meditating pose, his eyes fixated on nothing. After while, his rasping voice spoke, and it seemed to be layered over itself many times, reverbrating with a strange ancient power that shook up even King Stormfire himself. "The Cursed King shall be defeated by eight…."

**And the villain's here!**

**I'm so sorry for the delay; I wrote most of this the day I wrote the last chapter, then I had to leave for the weekend, and then I started school… In short, I've been kinda busy. :'D And lazy, lazy should go in there somewhere….**

**Guess who's making this story into a comic if she can get off her lazy butt? ewe**

**~Kaori**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Never have I owned or profitted from Ninjago. **

Chapter 8: Under the Ground of the New Moon

I woke with a start. My limbs seemed to be on fire. I quickly sat up, threw my arms in front of me, and flexed my fingers, just to make sure everything still worked.

"Morning."

I quickly looked toward the voice to see a grim-faced girl, about my age, leaning back in her chair, arms folded and eyes narrowed. Blond hair fell to her shoulders, and strange golden eyes bore into mine.

"I should actually be saying 'Night,' technically."

"Who are you?" I quickly jumped up, ignoring the pain the action sent through me in waves. The shadows were instantly sent into hysteric laughter at my predicament.

"Dusk." The girl told me.

"Impossible!"

"No, not entirely. We are under the new moon." She looked up, and I followed her gaze. Dim starlight filtered through a long hole in the roof, but the brighter light of the moon was nowhere to be seen. I looked back at her after a moment, and I was surprised to see anxiety cross her face.

"... You've been underground too long." she finally mumbled, sighing. "I wanted to tell you, honest, but you were so zoned out..." She shook her head. "You were training with Fever and Lightning, and I came to tell you to leave, but the sun had already set. Your friends are still asleep. When morning comes, I fear you will all become one of us."

"So... wait... what happened?" I was really confused at this point. The shadows' laughter turned to cauterwhauling and wild howls, and each clutched their sides. Clearly, they were amused at my confusion, since it did not happen often.

Dusk sighed. "If a human is here until the sun sets, they will faint, I suppose you would say. There is a strong chance that human will be one of us in the morning."

"So..." My eyes widened as I realized something. "Your name is Dusk. Dusk is the time when people change. Is there actually a connection there?" I found myself leaning forward, eyes wide with intrigue.

It took her a moment to answer, and even then her voice was shaky. She took a deep breath. "You're sharp, aren't you?" She tried to smile, but ended up failing. "I didn't even use the word dusk, and yet... Yes. I was the first human to be brought down here and stay until dusk. I don't even remember my human name because it's been so long ago. And we are doomed to never age once the curse is set upon us..."

For the first time in my life, I felt pity. An emotion that was almost human of me. _How could I have let this happen?_ I asked myself. _Human emotions..._

The laughter stopped. _Yes, Kori, how could you?! You do not belong to the humans, but to us! _A snake hissed at me, winding itself around my neck, and I tried not to show I was gasping for breath before it dispersed as a flickering of torchlight touched upon it.

"Dusk!" The door suddenly burst open, and a boy with tousled black hair charged into the room.

Dusk stood, her face immediately a blank slate. "Yes, Lightning? What is so urgent that you must leave your charges?"

"They'll be fine." Lightning's blue eyes were lit with excitement. "Nathaniel and Lady Kita are here!"

"Lady Kita?" My brow furrowed. I had heard the name. Oh, yes- she was the woman in charge of Jumanacai village. She had supposedly lost a child sixteen years ago, a child that had been fathered by a kitsune.

"Yes! She and her husband, who're newly wed, are the only two that can stay until after dusk and not get affected!" Lightning chattered away in excitement. "I suppose you've heard of Lady Kita, though, since she's the leader of the village you come from, right?"

"Right." I gave a small nod of confirmation, glancing away.

"You should come with us to see her." Dusk's voice was soft, and she pulled me to my feet. I did not protest, though I could hear some shadows warning me not to go with her.

I blinked slowly, then nodded. "Okay, I guess." I shrugged, once more indifferent.

I followed the two through the torch-lit passageways of the underground city. It was strange to realize that just earlier today, they had been those strange creatures- the ones who weren't quite animal, but not quite human, either. After a while of walking, I could see starlight glimmering ahead, and heard music, seeing shapes dance against the walls that also flickered with firelight. The shadows cast were long and exaggerated against the stark grays and browns of the rock that made the tunnel walls.

"Dusk?" A woman's excited voice greeted us, and before I knew it, a woman had raced up to Dusk and thrown her arms around her. She leaned back and carefully inspected Dusk, tucking her hair behind her ears. "You really are too young to have this put on you," she sighed, barely a faint breath past her lips. She was tall and pretty, with black hair like midnight and gray eyes like a stormy sky, but she looked grave and tired.

"It's okay, Lady Kita," Dusk mumbled uncomfortably. I watched the proceedings with increasing interest.

"Kita, you're scaring the girl, let her go." A man with dark red-brown hair walked up behind the woman, his dark blue-green eyes bright with cheery, unheard laughter. He looked past Dusk, though, to Lightning, and then...

His eyes stopped on me, and he froze.

"Um, Nathaniel, is something wrong?" Lightning's confused expression caused Nathaniel to grin once again, but this time it seemed more forced.

"Nothing is wrong, tyke," he chuckled, ruffling Lightning's black hair.

"Oh, okay." Ligtning still seemed confused, but he asked no more.

But, for a moment, I had seen that spark in Nathaniel's eyes- a spark that was confused, yet recognizing. I had no idea who he was, though. Had I maybe stolen something from him once, and he remembered seeing my shadow? That would be disastrous. Or had I maybe met him briefly, as a client? My family had so many that I forgot them all once the job was done, and in the business we were in, it was best to forget that type of thing, unless someone visited more than once.

"So, who's this?" Kita's attention turned from Dusk to me.

"My name is Kori," I introduced myself with a little bow. "I am a citizen of Jumanacai village."

"What?" Kita's pale face was then drained of the color it had. "From the village? Do you know how dangerous it is to be here? I am only able to be here without changing because of Nathaniel's spells! He is a kitsune, dear; that is why we do not change! Please, tell me you have not been here since before the sun set?" Her voice was pleading, and I felt this nagging sense of guilt, though I didn't know why.

"I have, and so have the other ninjas..." My voice was little more than a whisper. "I'm the newest, you see. The ninja of shadows."

"Well then, ninja of shadows, Kori..." She gently touched my cheek with the tips of her fingers, her gray eyes full of sorrow. "I am sorry that we have lost nine valiant warriors."

All around me, I heard the shadows begin to howl with laughter once again.

**In this chapter, I tried to have the shadows more involved than before. I realized I was sort of starting to forget them. **

**How did you like this chapter? I'm typing it while I wait for a cake to bake for a bake sale on Saturday. I worked hard on it; the chapter and making the cake! XD**

**I really hope you all like it, though, and I apologize for not updating sooner. Those of you who read my last version of this story, you know who Nathaniel and Kita are (though they went through a few changes); but please don't spoil it for new readers! XP**

**~Kaori**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Never have I owned or profitted from Ninjago. **

Chapter 9: Waking to Reality

My eyes slowly opened, and I raised my hands in the pale morning sunlight filtering in through the single hole in the ceiling.

They were still the same pale color of my skin.

I couldn't help but gasp, giving away my surprise to the otherwise empty room. Searching my entire being, I found nothing had changed. But...

How was this possible? Could it have all been a dream? Or had Dusk and the others actually _lied_ to me?

"Kori!" There was a pounding on the flimsy wooden door of my borrowed room, and I saw it visibly shake. I slowly got up, walking to the door hesitantly, unsure if I wanted to open it and face the others. They might've changed, and I was almost afraid to face most of them if they had.

I was surprised when I opened the door. There was a normal team of ninjas there. Normal, just like me; no transformation included! Except...

"What's going on? How come I'm the only one that changed?" Dara snapped, stomping her newly furred foot (or should I say paw?) in frustration.

I snorted with unconcealed malice in my eyes. She was the one I didn't like the most, certainly. And now, she had transformed into something that was half-human, half-wolf, one of the creatures. A very young, fuzzy gray wolf, but a wolf, to be sure. The facial structure and pointed ears couldn't be missed.

"I didn't realize you were twelve until now!" I laughed, grinning at her and rubbing the fur on her head teasingly, hoping to torture her over this as best I could.

"It never mattered!" Dara complained, almost whining. "It still doesn't! I'm still the ninja of air, and that's that! At least I'm not as young as Lloyd!" It was funny how she actually whined like a dog at the end of her last sentence, whether from frustration or hurt pride I couldn't tell, but I enjoyed it.

Then, for a moment there was a sudden stunned silence. Then, at the same time, we all exclaimed: "Lloyd!" For we had all realized that the others would be worried out of their minds right now.

"It's okay!" Cole finally said. "We can still get back to the monastery! No big deal! Let's just go find our dragons and go!"

"Excuse me!"

A half-familiar voice from down the tunnel caught my attention. I looked up to see Lady Kita, Nathaniel on her heels, rushing towards us.

"I need to get back to the village, quickly!" the woman gasped, clearly out of breath. A shadow of a cat, lounging on my shoulder, purred at the sight of distress. "I've just received word that my father has found the family of thieves terrorizing the village!"

"What?" I was before her in an instant, holding down my alarm and clearing my face of any and all emotion. "They have?"

Kita nodded. "Yes. I have to go back so I can give them the death penalty. They have been stealing from my people for far too long to be forgiven!"

My voice stuck in my throat. Those two words echoed.

_Death penalty._

My family was going to die. Poor Mikey. My loving father. My mother, who was mentally ill, but still a good mother to me all the same.

And they were all going to die by the hand of Lady Kita. Metaphorically, of course, but they would still end up lifeless all the same.

I had to plea their case somehow!

"But, what if they're just people like me and you, trying to make a living?" I asked her, my voice far too quiet for my liking. I had wanted to sound bold and defiant, but I sounded like a scared little child.

Kita, who had been turning to go with the rest of the ninjas and Nathaniel, stopped, turning around to fix me with an inquiring gaze. "What do you mean?"

If I said any more, she would get it, and I would be in the gallows as well. So I just sighed and looked up. "Never mind. I was just thinking strangely is all."

She nodded, then turned away again, moving away with the crowd of others.

I, however, did not follow. Instead, I retreated to the room I had been lent.

Only once the sounds of footsteps had faded did I finally break down and cry.

**Depressing chapter to write. It had to be done, though. Next one might be more depressing; who knows where my plot bunnies will lead me? Sometimes they are very evil and lead me into dark forests and deadly dreams. **

**Anyway, I have a poll. It has something to do with my other Ninjago story, Real or Not Real. Please vote! **

**~Kaori**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Owning Ninjago is someone else's job, thank you!**

Chapter 10: Gallows

A few mornings after, as I later learned, I woke with an overwhelming headache. "Ow," I mumbled, shutting my eyes against the light coming in through a window. At least the nightmare hadn't woken me.

"The nightmare!" I suddenly gasped. I remembered part of it for the first time. A small, white-haired child, not even two years old, abandoned in snow. Alone. Afraid.

_Death day, death day!_ a sudden dark chortle broke me from my thoughts, spoken by a shadow of a beetle.

I remembered then. My parents were being hung.

Apparently, this was the day they would meet the gallows.

Bad feelings churned in the pit of my stomach, but I resisted crying. I just slowly looked around, wondering where I was. I soon came to the revalation that I was back at the monastery somehow.

I jumped at a knock at the door, then steeled myself, placing a cold mask over my face. "Come in," I called icily.

Jay and Zane walked in, Zane with a medical bag and a glass of water, Jay with some kind of electronic device. "I finally got this done," Jay said, handing the small device to he.

I studied it with concealed interest for a moment, then glanced up at them again. "Can I help you?" I asked venomously.

Zane nodded at Jay, and the lightning ninja left. The nindroid, however, sat on the side of my bed, looking at me with his most concerned face. I returned it with a deep scowl.

"We came back to retrieve you and found you passed out. I ran a scan on your vitals and found you were dehydrated. You've been unconcious for two days. How did that happen?" He handed over the glass of water, which was cool to the touch, and I suddenly realized my mouth was drier than the Sahara.

As I gulped down the liquid, Zane still inspected me. I gave him my worst glare. "What?"

"We've been giving you water almost every hour you've been asleep, but it doesn't seem to have had any effect," he observed, standing. "Is there anything else that may have caused your fainting?"

_Shock_, I thought grimly, but said nothing of the sort aloud. "No, I was probably just neglecting my own hydration."

To my surprise, and for the first time in my life, I was shown no suspicion. He accepted it without question, nodding. "I'll leave you alone now." He turned to leave.

My eyes widened. Wasn't he going to question me? Every one of them was suspicious of me.

_He knows, Kori. He knows your secret, dear. _A cat shadow watched from the corner of the bed. _He's giving you benefit of the doubt._

"Yeah, right," I snorted.

Zane turned. "What?"

"Nothing," I ammended breezily.

"Oh." He then seemed to remember something. "The rest of us are going down to the village to the market. Want to come?" He was merely being polite, so he was bound to look surprised at my answer.

"Sure," I told him, shrugging like it was no big deal. But in my mind, a plan was forming. _Get down to te village with them. Slip away. Try to rescue my parents, run away, start a new life, then what? _My brain turned numb.

"Well, we're leaving shortly," Zane said, finally leaving.

Once I was sure he wouldn't hear, I let out a frustrated shout. "Gah!" I ground my teeth. This was getting annoying and frustrating and... and...!

I punched the wall.

I quickly drew my newly bloodied knuckles away. There was a hole in the plaster (mixed with stone) from the impact. "Ow," was all my mind could bring forth to say. My voice was dull, lifeless. Formless shadows curled their way to the edges of my brain, and I resisted a scream. "Owowowowowwwww."

After nursing the cuts for a moment, I tore off part of the bedsheets and wrapped them around my hand, just to be safe. I would get some alcohol or something to keep it from being infected later. For now, I had parents to save.

* * *

Moving wiftly, weaving in and out of the shadows, which embraced me welcomingly and questioned about my absence and return, I ignored all else except my destination.

The village's square swarmed with people. But they were nearly silent, besides a few soft murmurs. The gallows hung empty. Was I too late?

No. Movement from beneath them. Shadows called out an alarm to me, but my ears were suddenly ringing, and I was frozen to the spot. I couldn't move as two people were lead to the gallows. Two, not three. Where was my Mikey? My little brother Mikey, where was he?

I subconciously clutched the silver and blue charm necklace around my neck, the one I remembered having from forever ago, the one that gave me a warm sense of security and comfort whenever I just brushed it with my fingers. It gave me neither now.

Ropes around necks. Lever pulled. Wooden panels swinging from under two bodies.

_Snap._

The tightening of rope.

Someone was running forward in my body, pushing aside other people as I remained at a standstill in my place. Whoever it was was running, from the truth, from those two dead people who had no relation to that person making my body move away from the scene.

Then everything caught up, and I realized I was doing the most unusual thing in a time like this.

I was searching for the other ninjas.

**No. I promise you, whatever ideas you have, Kori will never have a love interest. And if she did, it wouldn't be a canon character. **

**I have a sequel planned already, though, that involves love interest for almost all of these guys. Interested yet? XD**

**Anyway, you may be wondering why the other ninjas don't appear a lot, especially the other girls? Kori doesn't want anything to do with them, and the feeling is mutual. But Sensei Wu is urging the guys to try to get her to trust them, so they can be a real team. They'll all hopefully show up a little more in future chapters. **

**~Kaori**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I have to say it AGAIN? See all the chapters before this! **

Chapter 11: A Try at the Thing Called Kindness

My legs hung over the cliff just outside the monastery. I was looking out over the village and forest and, far, far away, mountains, ocean, and desert, but I wasn't really taking in the view. I'm pretty sure I looked almost lifeless.

Hearing footsteps behind me, I turned. It was Cole and Dusk, who had come to start giving us details on the training that we would need to harness our weapons' energy to lift the curse.

"They've decided not to turn you in," Dusk said softly, her smile small as she crouched and put a paw on my shoulder.

I just stared back dully. What use was it? I had broken down and told them everything. Almost instantly, their actions said I was being rejected. Like Cole now, all of the ninjas refused to meet my eyes, and they didn't speak to me. I didn't need any more rejection.

I opened my mouth, like a puppet on strings, and said clearly, "I'm leaving to find my brother. He didn't swing from the gallows as my parents did." I didn't even realize that was my plan until I spoke it aloud.

Cole finally looked at me for the first time since I told of my heritage. "You're not going alone, then," he said stubbornly. "Sensei Wu said we aren't giving you up because it wasn't your fault and you can be reformed for the better. If you go off like that, we can't help you, and that's what Sensei said we had to do."

"Do whatever you like," I sighed, "I know you all hate me now."

"Zane, myself, and, unbelievably, Dara, were your biggest supporters," Dusk told me in a whisper. "Yes, supporters. We couldn't have hated you if we plead for your life, right?" The golden-furred half-lion, half-girl gave me a comforting smile.

Those words made me realize something. "Hold on," I said out loud, "how come Dara changed when the others didn't, including me?"

Dusk gave me a strange look. "I don't know," she confessed. "I've never seen anything like it, really. It's a case all on its own, very unique. I could go back and get someone to look in the scrolls and books to see if anything like this has happened before, if you like?"

I shook my head, remembering my brother. "No, we have something more pressing to attend to. I'm afraid that if we don't find him soon, he's going to suffer the same fate as my parents." Despite myself, I found my lip quivering and my eyes watering at the thought. _You disgust_ me! a tiny voice in my head snarled. Somehow, I knew that was me. Part of me, anyway. And it couldn't wait to get back in control, making me that cold, heartless monster I had been only a short while ago.

But Dusk seemed to agree with me. "Of course," she said sympathetically, nodding. "I know what it's like to lose family. Well, I can't even remember my family anymore, but..." She smiled weakly. "I just know."

"We should start in the village," Cole interrupted abruptly. "Come on. Dusk and Dara will have to stay here, since they'd be so out of place in the village and might cause a panic. I suppose you can go with Lauren and Kai to search for your brother. What does he look like, first of all, so we can split into groups?"

"I'll tell you when we're all together, okay?" I sighed. "I don't want to repeat myself." I tamped down the impatience threatening to rise into my voice. I couldn't deal with that now. My old nature could wait until I got my brother back.

Cole nodded. "Fine." He turned back to the monastery. "Come on. We'll gather everyone else to search."

For a moment I didn't move. Then I got up reluctantly from my perch on the cliff. Though I hadn't really been paying attention, the sight of the landscape comforted me. I knew when I looked out there, somewhere, I was looking at Mikey. He was out there, somewhere. I could feel it, like some kind of instinct.I could feel that he was close, yet far.

I lingered behind when Dusk and Cole entered the monastery, looking back for a split second. "I promise I'll find you, Mikey," I whispered, then turned back to disappear into the place I decided I could now call home.

When I reached the dining room, where most of the group conversations were held, everyone seemed to be waiting for me. They looked at me expectantly as I arrived, clearly having been briefed by Cole while I had hovered outside for a moment.

"Well," I started, taking a deep breath. "I suppose you know we're looking for my brother. While I'm talking, I just want to say, thank you all." The gratefulness in my voice was hard to get out, and the thank you was nearly forced. "A-anyhow, my brother is about Lloyd's age and height, but a little taller. He's got brown hair and sort of hazel eyes that're more green." I pursed my lips, thinking of what else I could say.

"Wait," Kaya suddenly said. "I remember seeing someone like that somewhere." She glanced at her twin for help.

Kaia nodded. "Yeah, me too! I forget where, though." She tapped her chin thoughtfully.

Dara suddenly spoke. "Hey, I know!" The rest of us turned to her expectantly. "It was on some kind of poster in the village!"

Zane nodded. "Yes, I remember as well. It was on a wanted poster, I believe. It said he had escaped from the prison while awaiting the sentence of death."

Lauren looked at me with a smile. "That means he must've gotten away somewhere!"

A realization dawned on me. "And I think I know just where he'd go." I gave a smile that was reluctant to come and awkward on my face, but it was a real smile, nontheless. "Thanks, everyone. A couple of you can come with me if you want, but I need to go virtually unnoticed, if you don't mind."

"I'll go," Jay volunteered.

"And me as well," Dara said.

"That's all I'll need, I think. I won't need to be breaking him out of anywhere. I just figured you'd want to make sure I didn't try to get away once I found him," I explained. "Now, disguise yourselves. You're too well-known like this, I'm pretty sure, but if we go out disguised, I can get my brother back without a problem."

**Next chapter, excitement ensues! I will say only this: it's not only her brother they'll be finding. **

**I really want to get this story done so I can hurry and start the sequel! I love the idea so much! :D**

**~Kaori**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: Okay, last time I'll say it; I don't own Ninjago!**

Chapter 12: Operation "Get the Kid" Goes Wrong

"Sh!" I threw a look back over my shoulder at the two following me.

"Sorry," Jay said sheepishly, picking up the oranges he had knocked over from the stand in the market. To be more inconspicuous, Jay was dressed in a blue hoodie and jeans, and Dara was dressed in the same, only a gray hoodie, and the hood was over her head to hide the fact that she had fur and a muzzle and pointed ears on top of her head.

"We're almost there. I don't want you two ruining my chances of seeing my brother," I hissed.

"Don't worry," Dara mumbled, coming to stand beside Jay. "I'll make sure he doesn't mess up again."

"Hey!" I jerked my head up at the sound of a young girl's voice. Two of them were approaching rapidly with wide grins.

For a moment, I drew a blank. Then, I remembered. From Cole's dad's. "Hey Addy, Drey." I smiled at the two, the same insane smile from the first time I had met them. "What're you doing here?"

"Uh, well..." Addy thought for a moment before seeming to remember something. "Oh yeah! My mom needed to come to the market, and I got her to let Drey come along!" Drey smiled shyly, waving at Jay and Dara.

I gave them both a real smile then, despite the shadows goading me on to try and really scare them. "Well, Drey and Addy, have you seen any new little boys near here?" It was a dumb thing to say, but I said it anyway. If Mikey was where I thought he was, and he was wanted to be hung, then he would be kept inside and hidden.

To my surprise, Drey nodded, and Addy said, "Well, he's not really little, but he's about twelve! But we only saw him once for a little while, and he didn't talk much."

Dara put a hand on my shoulder. "Kori. Could that be him?"

"Maybe," I muttered. "But I doubt it."

A sudden scream pierced the air. I quickly looked around for the source and saw a woman whacking at a half-lizard, half-human creature. Nearby, a manhole cover was discarded, and as I watched, more of the creatures came pouring out of the manhole and attacking the nearest humans. Some half-dog creatures seemed to appear from nowhere among the crowd of humans, and I quickly realized this was because they looked exactly like humans themselves and were transforming into the creatures.

"What do we do?!" Jay was in hysterics. I was tempted to slap him to "knock sense" into him. It had always seemed like a fun thing to do.

Instead I held myself back and curled my fingers into fists. "I may not yet know Spinjitsu," I said solemnly, "but I do have a debt to pay to society. I've learned enough from my line of work that I know how to handle situations like this. You guys in?"

"Definitely." Dara nodded, her paws turning to fists as well.

"Jay?" I looked at the ninja of lightning with urgency. "Come on!"

"Okay, okay!" Jay nodded. "But shouldn't we find some way to get the others here?"

"No time. I'm sure Sensei will know soon enough." With that, I jumped into the throng of fleeing villagers, pushing against the crowd to get to the lizard people.

Reaching one, I punched it in the jaw. It was flung back by the force, but quickly got back up and glared at me, taking a knife from its vest and charging. I managed to dodge a direct hit, but it grazed my arm, and I clenched my teeth as blood welled from the spot.

"Kori! Look out!"

I was stunned by a surprisingly familiar voice. I turned just in time to see another lizard coming for me, and I moved out of the way so that the second lizard bumped headlong into the first, who was coming in for another chance to hurt me.

"Thanks Lightning!" I nodded gratefully at the albino tiger creature, who was fighting his own battle against one of the dogs.

"I had a feeling something bad was going to happen." I didn't have to look as Dusk took up a place behind me so we could fight back-to-back, a good strategy so we wouldn't be taken by surprise. "So I went and got my best fighters and scouts. No surprise, it's King Stormfire's soldiers."

"King Stormfire?" I asked.

"There are certain types of creatures on the bad side. That would be dogs, lizards, and some other species that we also have, but yes, the majority of King Stormfire's forces are scouts, the dogs, and dagger, or fighters, which are the lizards, but scouts act as warriors as well." Dusk explained while swiping at a dog's chest with a katana. "King Stormfire is a wolf. His most elite and trusted scouts are wolves as well."

Funny she should say that, because at that moment, a wolf with a pattern like a dalmation landed in front of me. I remembered seeing this specific wolf before, a few days ago when Dusk was leading me to the cursed beings' hideout.

I quickly pulled at the air, and a staff formed in my hands made completely from the shadows I had just called upon. They told me to kill, but that wasn't my aim. I simply swung at the wolf creature's head hard enough to knock it out cold, and then called upon more shadows to make a rope to tie around it that could only be undone by someone with the ability to call upon shadows or with a something sharp made of shadows. It's sorta like some concepts of ghosts- you can feel them, and they can touch you and harm you, but you can't do anything back.

There I go getting distracted again. I almost got hit by an arrow that grazed my cheek, leaving a small cut, but nothing too serious, and this called me out of my distracted state. In the chaos, I could see that the civilians had gotten away, and us three ninjas and the good cursed beings were alone in the market with the bad ones.

"Fuzz! Go get the other ninjas!" Dusk called to another creature that looked half-hyena.

The creature nodded and dashed off. I watched it until it disappeared from the crowd, but reappeared a moment later, running on all fours towards the monastery.

Returning my attention to the battle, I asked Dusk, who was still behind me, "You still okay?"

"I'm surviving," she said grimly. "But there might be too many of them."

"We can get through-"

"Creatures and ninjas!" A sudden loud voice boomed over the market. I looked toward the voice, and there stood a large, scarred, dark gray wolf, his icy blue eyes boring into the crowd. "Give up. You belong to me! This world has always belonged to the creatures! We are to rule, not all of you!"

"Who's that?" I asked Dusk quietly.

She gave me a grave look. "That," she murmured, "is King Stormfire."

**I patched up some plot holes in chapter three. Very tiny ones, minute details, really…. But needed. I might go through the other chapters to see if I can find anything else that needs to be fixed.**

**I feel like no one is really paying attention to this story any more. I get less views and reviews each chapter, and I'm really just thinking about cancelling it? I've put a lot of thought into my decision, and I just want to know your opinions….**

**Also, as you may have noticed, I made a new cover, but... The Image Manager thing cut some of it off. :I **

**~Kaori**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13: Father and Brother

"Stormfire!" My head whipped around at the voice, and my eyes landed on Nathaniel. "Stop terrorizing this village!"

Stormfire's scarred muzzle drew up into an ugly grin. "Oh, Nathaniel! Decided to join the party? I'm not going to agree to your peace terms, and your kitsune powers have lost strength since you lost your wife and daughter. There is no way you can defeat me!"

"Wrong." Nathaniel's voice was firm, and I admired him for standing up to the villainous creature. "I have my wife back."

I turned to see King Stormfire's response, only to be awed as he jumped from his perch to land right in front of Nathaniel, drawing double blades from his hips. He placed the tip of one silver blade under Nathaniel's chin and tilted it upward, so the man's blazing defiance bore down on him. Stormfire only chuckled. "But it's the daughter you still worry about."

"She was given a loving home away from trouble. She knows nothing." The kitsune in human form tried to seem confident, but for a single second, his eyes wavered from the king's face to... I had to have been seeing things. Did he just look straight at _me_?

"Kori." I was jarred out of my thoughts by Jay's hissing voice. "The other side is getting restless. Be prepared, the fight could break out again at any one word!"

"Of course," I murmured. Now that I was focused, I could see the jittery movements of some of the enemies, their eyes flickering from their king to us, the good guys of the picture. Irony for me.

"Does she know nothing?" King Stormfire's voice rumbled in my ear, and I jumped. When did he get there?!

"Leave that girl alone, Stormfire. Your qualm is with me. She is nothing but a bystander," Nathaniel stepped toward us, but in an instant, there was a sword at my throat.

Dara growled, pulling back her hood. "King Stormfire," she said, bowing her head. "Perhaps he tells the truth. He is a simple goody-goody who only wants the survival of his people."

I wondered what she was doing when it dawned on me. Of course! She must've noticed that King Stormfire's army was consisted of mostly lizards and- thank you for your intelligence Dara- canines! I silently thanked the younger girl a million times in my mind, especially when I remembered what Dusk said about the wolves being King Stormfire's elites.

"True," King Stormfire growled. "But still, he appears to want to protect her. Let's see what he thinks of this then." I saw the ugly grin from the corner of my eye before he snatched me by the necklace around my neck. I heard a sharp gasp from Nathaniel's direction as I was jerked to face the king. He lifted a knife to my face, and I jerked away from him.

"Stay still, or this will hurt a lot more than it needs to," Stormfire growled, beginning to drive the tip of the silver knife into my cheek.

I gritted my teeth, giving him as dark and hateful a glare as I could muster. The shadows around us began spiraling toward him, hissing, but they couldn't fully materialize on the physical plane unless I did something to draw them here.

Shutting my mind against the pain, a heavy pressure began to build behind my eyes as I focused on the chain around my neck. Only a few of the shadows responded, and hopefully it would be enough. They began eating away at the chain of the necklace, and I heard a metallic snap as the links broke.

Stumbling back, I held my cheek, which was seared with pain; I brought my hand away, and it was drenched in blood. I didn't dare speak.

"Kori!" Dara raced to my side.

"What are you doing?" King Stormfire barked at her, glaring.

"I am not your soldier!" Dara told him defiantly. "Kori is my friend, and you hurt her!" I felt a little heart-warmed at this statement and gave her a small smile, but tried to tell her not to go against him. In truth, I was scared. I had never been hurt before, and it terrified me. I didn't want anything to happen to my young friend.

_What happened to you, Kori? Why don't you be brave and fight? _

I was stunned by the familiar voice, and looked up to where Dusk was drawing her sword against the king. But no, it was her voice, but she hadn't actually spoken.

_Stand and fight! I know you can if you want to! _

I suddenly had an idea and looked down at her shadow. My eyes widened. It was moving out of sync with her, talking to me; I wanted to scream. The truth of thoughts. That was what shadows always brought me. I couldn't handle true humans thoughts; I knew the extent of cruelty some would go to.

"Agh!" There was a yowl of pain, and I looked up to see King Stormfire holding his side. Crimson glistened on Dusk's sword.

"Leave, Stormfire," she hissed monotonously, eyes narrowed.

"You have won this round, but I plan on returning," Stormfire warned, backing toward the manhole. He jumped down it, and his troops swarmed after him.

"Hey, Kori!" Jay yelled at me, beckoning me over to a covered stand. The fruits that had been on it were in disarray on the stand or splattered on the ground.

"What?" I asked quietly, moving my mouth as little as possible as I went to crouch beside him. It still stung my cheek.

"Look," he said, pulling up the tablecloth.

I froze. "Mikey." I paid no attention to the pain anymore; my mouth broke into a wide grin, and my eyes watered. I held out my arms to the boy with the mop of thick, dark brown hair and soulful, scared brown eyes. This was my brother.

Without hesitation, he lunged for me and burrowed into my arms, sobbing. "It's okay, Mikey," I said quietly. "It's okay. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Wow. I guess we missed all the action, but got to see this miraculous family reunion." I didn't move, but heard Cole's voice.

"Excuse me." A hand was placed on my shoulder, and I froze, rigid, then turned toward whoever it was with hostility. I soon relaxed, seeing it was only Nathaniel. "I believe this belongs to you." He handed me the broken bits of my necklace.

"Thanks," I said, pausing for a moment before looking him in the eye, "Dad."

He nodded.

**The end~! Yes, shorter than I said it would be, but I really want to start on the sequel. Nope; won't focus on Kori (for most chapters) but on a whole new set of OCs... that I have to go think up now...**

**~Kaori**


	15. Chapter 15

Epilogue

Kori stood in a circle with the other ninja. This was the last time they'd be meeting for a while. The twins were heading off for some extended training in some far-off region; Lauren was going to help her parents with their business, while Dara would help the creatures settle back into regular life. Kori herself was going off with her father to harness the powers that were apparently passed on to her, laying dormant until a couple of days after her necklace was broken.

They stood around a large crystal, jutting from the ground. Eight wooden poles stuck out at an acute angle from the ground, each inscribed with a different element. Each ninja was standing near the pole with the inscription of their element, focusing on gathering their energy.

Finally, it seemed as though everything was pushed out through their fingertips into the poles. The crystal began to glow brightly, blindingly. A beam of the light began to rise from the gem until it reached the ceiling, which was almost lost in darkness before. A host of the crystals was hit, subsequently brightening a moment before they shattered.

"Did we do something wrong?" Cole asked in confusion after a short silence.

"No," Kori whispered, "look." She pointed toward Dara.

The wolfish features were vanishing from her face, to be replaced by more human ones. Her paws were growing into hands, and her gray fur was replaced by her dark brown hair, and just on top of her head now. Pretty soon, the twelve-year-old was completely human again.

"It did work!" she exclaimed in excitement, holding out her hands to examine each individual finger.

"Did anybody else think that was freaky?" Jay asked. Unfortunately, he was right beside Dara, and she punched him in the arm for his comment.

As they walked through the underground town, each had a sense of sadness. They would miss each of their comrades, whether they cared to admit it or not. And for once, Kori didn't feel like hiding her emotions.

When they reached the surface, Kori's father was waiting for her with a patient smile, along with Sensei Wu, Nya, and Lloyd. Kori hugged each and every one of the people she would be leaving behind, though she did take care not to cry. They had helped her so much, whether they realized it or not.

"Take care, kid," Kori whispered to Lloyd, hugging him last of all and ruffling his hair. "And make sure you help my brother train a little, okay?" Even though she knew now that Mikey wasn't really her blood brother, she had grown up with him, and they were siblings at heart.

"I will!" Lloyd promised, nodding and puffing out his chest importantly.

Kori smiled and joined her father. The two began walking away, but Kori turned for a moment and waved to the others. Dara was already gone, disappeared back underground; the twins were walking towards their dragon, and the others waved back.

The click of shoes on the cobblestones of the abandoned surface town turned softer with each step Kori and her father took; finally, there were only pawsteps.

A sleek, black, fox-like creature turned one last time, tears shining in her eyes. A dark purple-black smoke seemed to swirl around her, and her two tails waved gently; a white line forked to run down both her tails and to separate into two lines on the back of her neck and her forehead.

A yip from a ginger kitsune with white paws caught her attention, and she turned back to him just in time to see his own three tails bobbing away. She followed, her pawsteps now silent on the grass, and as they disappeared, a gentle flurry of snow began to fall, coating the bare trees and the ground.

_One day, I will return to complete our family again._

**Okay, so I tied up loose ends here. NOW it's done. :'D By the way, King Stormfire and his troops were also returned to normal... They were technically all one group when the first transformation happened. **

**~Kaori**


End file.
